


Beach Episode

by Galaxy_Phoenix



Category: Dragon Quest Series, Dragon Quest XI
Genre: Also the day Hendrik and Erik almost died from a volleyball, Basically everything is fine now, Beach Volleyball, Day At The Beach, Erik is being a gay disaster and his adorable bf loves him anyway, F/F, Fluff, Found family are enjoying their day at the beach, Humor, Ice Cream, M/M, Mia and Veronica being friends is a treasure, Multi, Post-Game but no Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-03
Updated: 2020-05-03
Packaged: 2021-03-02 04:15:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,089
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23988724
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Galaxy_Phoenix/pseuds/Galaxy_Phoenix
Summary: The party decides to spend a day at the beach to relax and catch up."Where's Rab?" you ask?My answer: getting his tan nearby and not giving a care in the world, let this man retire.
Relationships: Camus | Erik/Hero | Luminary (Dragon Quest XI), Graig | Hendrik/Sylvia | Sylvando (Dragon Quest XI), Marutina | Jade/Sena | Serena, Maya | Mia & Veronica
Comments: 4
Kudos: 40





	Beach Episode

**Author's Note:**

> This is for a mutual on Tumblr ( **scribblehooves** for those curious) who gave me the green light to write a fic based on her wonderful art! Thank you so much, hun, I'm sorry it took so long!

Puerto Valor was always a tourist attraction all year-round, but especially during the summer. It had a lovely coastline with the waves coming in, bringing white foam with it and the scenic views were gorgeous to be immersed in while relaxing. 

Which was what brought them along. The world was already saved, things were back to normal, and they figured a vacation would be good to relax and catch up. So there they were, unpacking and getting ready for the beach day. Eleven and Erik were holding hands casually now, finally getting to that point in their relationship after being together for a little while. They were following behind the twins who were talking to Jade about life.

"It's nice out today!" Eleven comments, smiling sweetly.

"Y-Yeah! Today was a good day to go." Erik replied, trying to hide his pink cheeks.

"What do you want to do first?"

"I wanna get in the water first if that's alright."

"Okay!"

Erik walked ahead of him and the group managed to find a large enough spot to accommodate everyone. They both got their towels laid out next to each other's and Jade passed Eleven the sunscreen.

"You probably won't need it as bad as he does." Jade told him, referring to Erik. She was right about that sort of thing, considering how Erik's pale skin shone in the sun, whiter than the sand they were walking on.

Oh, he was gonna be a lobster, no matter how much sunscreen is put on him. Being used to the coldest climate in Erdrea made him a little more susceptible to getting hotter than everyone else in a warmer environment. The poor soul almost passed out twice in Gallopolis due to heatstroke when they were still traveling around the world. So Eleven already had to be aware of his boyfriend's environmental limits but that didn't bother him.

"Oh dear."

"Yeah, so I would keep an eye on him. I think he's already aware of it though."

"I will." Eleven turned to walk away until Jade caught his attention. 

“A little thing between you and me: If anyone wants to be that jerk and give you a hard time, you come get me if you can. I know places like this can breed scum like that.”

“I will.” Eleven nodded seriously. It usually didn’t happen but it’s happened before. Usually Jade or someone was there in an instant to knock out whoever thought it would be a good idea to bully him like that. Erik was with him too, and he knew that Erik didn’t have an issue at least saying some choice words in defense. 

He took the sunscreen and trekked back to Erik, who was busy putting sunscreen on Mia.

“Do I really need that much?” Mia asked, a little annoyed.

“Yes, because we’ll both get burnt to a crisp out here.”

“You’ve already used half of the bottle!”

“I actually haven’t, but I make that happen.”

“I’m good.”

“Alright, you rascal, get on.” Erik shooed her off with a hint of playfulness. Mia responded by sticking her tongue out at him before running off to the ocean. Erik chuckled to himself as he shook his head; Mia just being… well, Mia.

“She knows you mean well.” 

“Yeah she does, in her own bratty way.”

“Can I help you with your back?”

“O-Oh, uh, yeah, only if you want to!”

“Alright, hold still.”

Erik bristled at the cold sunscreen on his back. 

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah, the sunscreen was cold and it surprised me. It's alright."

"If you say so."

Erik felt him work the sunscreen on his back and to him, it felt like a nice massage. His usually soft hands combined with slow, deep movements was almost enough to put him to sleep. 

"There we go!"

That was enough to wake him up and Erik looked up to see his outstretched hand and patient smile. Erik took it happily and felt himself being pulled up from his sitting position. 

"Ready for a swim?" Erik asked.

"Ready when you are!" Eleven responded happily and so they ran for the ocean, Erik yelling "last one in is a rotten egg!" and Eleven laughing not far behind. Soon their feet went from warm sand to cool water as they splashed about getting in. The cold seawater was both refreshing to feel and a nice shock from the warm sand. The water surrounded them and they both walked out until the water was up to their chests.

“The water’s a little cold isn’t it?”

“Yeah, but you get used to it in a minute.”

“But that takes too looooong!” Erik dragged out the word for exaggeration, making Eleven giggle at him being silly. Eleven’s laugh is a precious sound and Erik felt blessed every time he heard it. 

**Back on the shore**

“Is this his stuff? Veronica whispered. 

“Yeah, this is it!” Mia grinned, finding what she was looking for.

“Why does that dork have to bring his necklace with him?”

“Old habit.”

“Still…”

“At least he’ll miss it more than his shirt.”

“True. So where should we hide it?”

“Oh, I know the perfect spot.”

The girls giggle mischievously to themselves; they knew that Erik would uproot the whole site to find it. 

“Jade, I think they’re planning something.” Serena pointed out as she watched her sister and Mia take Erik’s necklace and run off. 

“Knowing those two, I’m not surprised. Veronica seems to like her.” 

“Oh dear, I hope Erik doesn’t have too much of a fuss looking for it," Serena said worriedly, casually putting her head on Jade's shoulder. 

Jade felt her soft cheek on his shoulder and almost had a panic moment. She hoped she would have the guts herself to tell Serena that her bathing looked nice on her. 

She hoped the sun would hide her burning cheeks as she mulled away in her own thoughts...

**A few feet away**

"So how are things at the Academié?" Veronica asked as Mia played with Erik’s necklace. They were currently hiding out behind one of the dunes.

"Eh, they're normal. It's fun at least."

"Stole anything yet?" 

"Nooooo, what kind of person do you take me for?" Mia scoffed playfully.

"Erik brought up that you got caught trying to snag a Mini Medal from the Headmaster."

"Well maybe if he didn't have so many in his pouch at one time, maybe I wouldn't be tempted."

Veronica laughed as she started digging something out of her small bag. Mia looked on confused.

"What are you doing?" Mia asked curiously.

"Thought this would be something nice for you." 

Veronica digs out what she was looking for and shows Mia the Mini Medal in her hand. She saw Mia's eyes glow up at the sight of gold.

"You want to give that to me?"

"It would be worth more in your case. It'll just rot if it stays with me." Veronica explained. 

Veronica drops the Mini Medal in Mia's cupped hands and watches in delight as Mia looks over the treasure.

"Wow!! It's legit!!"

"Of course it is, and it's yours."

"Thanks!"

Veronica never understood how Erik said she was a brat, she thought she was perfectly fine. 

“So you and Erik finally get the chance to travel the world some?”

“Yeah! It was mostly treasure-hunting, but we had fun. I wish he wasn’t such a worrywart sometimes, though…” Mia’s voice trailed off as she continued to study the Mini Medal under the sun. 

“What do you mean?” 

“I know he’s the older one of us, but he gets caught up in stuff and then he stews on it for a while.”

“Like what happened in Sniflheim?” Veronica pressed. 

“I think so, but he has gotten better since then. I think it still bothers him a little.”

“I don’t doubt it, but I can also understand that. I have to worry about Serena sometimes because she has to put up with me. Siblings, older or younger, sorta have to keep an eye on each other. So did you find anything great on your expeditions?” Veronica hoped that by changing the topic of conversation Mia would be focused on something else. For a so-called “brat”, Mia can be rather thoughtful at times when she wanted to be. 

“Oh yeah! We found this awesome chest…”

As much as Veronica gave Erik hell, she also knew the stress of being a sibling. 

Back to Jade and Serena's spot, the boys came back from the ocean, thoroughly drenched in ocean water but full of life nonetheless. 

"The sea's nice and cold. You ought to jump in." Eleven told the girls. 

"I'll think about it. The towels are in there." Jade offered, pointing to the nearby bag they shared together.

Eleven dug into the shared bag and dug out his own towel while Erik dug into his and got his own. He would probably have to reapply soon, he could already feel himself burning up.

“Oh sweet, your face is awfully red, I would put some more sunscreen on.”

“Yeah, I can already tell from the burning sensation.”

He prayed that the impending sunburn wasn’t going to be as bad. He took his towel and dried his face off before taking the bottle of sunscreen that he had and smeared some on his face.

“Hey Eleven, why not go see if they have those hibiscus pins over by that shop?” 

Eleven beamed and went to the beach stand to see what they offered, leaving Jade and Erik by themselves. 

"Hey Erik, by the way…"

"What's up?"

Erik wasn't prepared for Jade's serious, stone-cold face right in front of his own. He flinched but still didn't back away completely. " _If you break his heart, **I'll break your knees.**_ "

He knew that she was protective of Eleven and just meant well, but that didn't stop his knees from knocking together in fear, "Y-Y-Yes, ma'am."

Jade sighed, “Look, I’m going to be real with you here, I do trust you a little. But as the big sister, sometimes you have to put your foot down and lay down the law.”

“Yeah no, I totally understand that! As an older sibling myself, I totally feel that.” He looked over at his sister, who had joined the twins and was talking to Veronica about something, both of them snickering. Erik’s eyes narrowed.

He didn’t trust those two one bit.

“I’d watch yourself if I were you..”

“So it would seem.”

“I’ll be over here if you need anything. Just don’t do anything stupid.”

“I-I’ll do my best, ma’am,” Erik responded, knowing full well that such a request wasn't going to be easily followed, but for his sake, he would try his best. After she left, he would run back to join Eleven who he noticed was holding something colorful in his hand. 

Were those flowers? They must be the hibiscus pins Jade mentioned.

"Which color would you like?” Eleven asked, excitedly.

Goddess, he was adorable. The way his eyes beamed made his heart feel things and he had to keep himself from melting in his spot. 

_Wait, he was talking to him._

“Uhh, the green one. I think the peach matches you better”

He received the green flower from Eleven and Eleven kept the peach-colored flower for himself. He watched as Eleven put the flower behind his ear and adjusted it.

“You got it?” Erik asked.

“Yeah, I think I got it. I had to have Jade show me.”

“Yeah, it usually doesn’t stay in one place for too long without a clip or something,” Erik told him, adjusting his own flower behind his ear.

“There!” Eleven let the flower go and the hibiscus remained on his ear. He gave Erik a cute smile which made Erik a little weak in the knees. 

Speaking of his knees, he felt something bump into him.

Something… squishy, like a warm marshmallow.

"Oh, my apologies!"

They both looked down to find a bright blue Tockle with a peach hibiscus pin like Eleven's pinned up. It had apparently bumped into Erik behind his leg. 

“Come for a vacation as well?” Eleven asked.

“Ah yes! This city is my home away from home, Tickington. Even Tockles like myself need time to get away.”

“I can imagine,” Erik commented. 

“Well, I won’t stop you any further! Enjoy the rest of your day in the sun!”

“You too!”

The Tockle walked toward the edge of the beach where the sea met the sand, eventually out of view and leaving the boys by themselves.

“Well, at least those little guys can relax some when the world isn’t a mess.”

“That’s true.”

They both stood there a moment until Erik thought of something.

“Hey, uh, I’m gonna run back to our stuff for just a moment. I need to check something.”

“I’ll join that way, I have to put some more sunscreen on.”

So they walked back to their spot on the beach and as Eleven was reapplying for some more sunscreen, Erik was digging through his bags rather worriedly trying to find something.

“Is something the matter?”

“I can’t find my necklace anywhere… I know I placed it around here.”

This was like the time when he was looking for the Red Orb in that garbage heap back in Downtown Heliodor, back when things were a little direr and they were both criminals on the run. 

Now it was just another day at the beach.

Erik stopped for a second and Eleven watched him snap his head around, looking about the area and being rather mad at something.

“ _Where are they?_ ”

“They?”

“I know they’re hiding around here somewhere, probably snickering.”

Erik stopped immediately and zoned in on one of the nearby sand dunes and Eleven caught the heads of Mia and Veronica laughing mischievously.

“I should’ve known…” was all Erik muttered before bolting across the beach to the direction of the dune, causing Mia to spring out and run ahead, holding his necklace tightly in her grasp and laughing wickedly. Eleven was all the more surprised that at the wicked speed they both had, believing that it must run in the family. So Eleven took a seat on his towel under the umbrella and watched the blue-haired siblings run all over the place, like a wolf pursuing a rabbit. This went on for about almost ten minutes until Mia took a wrong step and Erik snatched the necklace out of her hand. Mia ran away to avoid him and Erik trudged back to the umbrella where Eleven was sitting and collapsed on his back, putting his necklace back around his neck. 

“Holy shit, what are they feeding her at school!? I didn’t think she’d be that much competition…”

“It must run in the family.”

“I’d believe it.”

Erik refused to get up until his breathing was back to normal after all of that running around.

* * *

“I can’t believe we can finally relax in peace after so long of running around, fighting monsters. It’s almost been too long…” Sylvando commented before sipping on the summery cocktail from the local bar. 

Hendrik didn’t respond but Sylvando knew he felt the same. It’s funny how things can change in the blink of an eye. 

“How is your father? He is doing better, I hope?”

“Ah, _Papi_ is doing well. You know him, always wanting to get back into the fray.”

“Of course.”

“He also sends his regards. He thinks rather highly of you, you know.”

This did put a smile on Hendrik’s face. Sir Rodrigo was a well-respected knight in the world and was renowned for his skills. To be thought of was a high honor in that regard. 

“Perhaps later this evening if you are up to it, we can practice with swords for old time’s sake. Just the two of us.”

Sylvando looked ahead, casually drinking his cocktail but Hendrik knew he was pondering. “Sir Hendrik, are you asking me on a date?”

The simple question was enough to fluster the man and Sylvando tried his hardest to keep from laughing at his reaction. Hendrik was not one to ask for casual meetings and he knew that. 

“Of course, darling, that would be wonderful.”

Hendrik seemingly calmed down upon realizing Sylvando was only jesting with him. He knew, however, that Sylvando would never mock him harshly. That wasn’t like him unless the other person deserved it.

* * *

"Jade, there's an empty volleyball court! A game couldn't hurt, would it? I think the twins brought a ball with them." Eleven said, pointing out the court in the nearby distance.

"That sounds like a fantastic idea." Jade agreed.

They went to find the twins and found Serena, who was currently relaxing under the orange-and-yellow-striped umbrella. 

"Hello!"

"Hey, Serena! Did you and Veronica happen to bring a ball? Jade and I found an empty volleyball net and we were wondering if we could borrow it?"

"Sure! Just a moment…" Serena agreed, looking through their shared bag to get it. She graciously handed the ball to them with a kind smile.

"If I may, I would like to watch the game."

"Uhhh, sure! Y-You can if you want!" Jade responded, hoping she wasn't too nervous. Eleven knew that Jade had a crush on her and was slowly encouraging her to do things with her.

"Do you plan to add more people?"

"That wouldn't be a bad idea! I can get Erik, and if you can convince Hendrik, we'll have a setup going!"

Oh, this would be fun.

"Sure, go find your boyfriend. I'll talk to Hendrik."

Eleven beamed and went to find his boyfriend, happily trotting over to where he was with the beach ball.

Jade smiled; Eleven really was a fool in love, but at least he was happy. Erik did everything he could to make him happy and Jade acknowledged that. Not to mention, hearing Eleven gush about him from time to time was actually adorable. 

Now to talk Sir Hendrik, the once-proud general of Heliodor’s Royal Guard, into playing a simple game of volleyball. She found him relaxing next to Sylvando, who was loving the beachy vibe.

"I've always liked coming to the beach, it gives off a relaxing feeling."

“Even if it is near the place you disliked to be near?”

“Yes… the beach was the one thing I did like about here. I would escape at night to come down to these waves and the calming sounds always cheered me up.”

“I see.”

“Well, it’s good to see both of you enjoying the sun.” Jade approached them, garnering a joyful greeting from Sylvando. 

“Ah, hello darling! So what have you been doing?”

“Nothing much, though Eleven has suggested a game of volleyball if you would like to join us.”

“You should, Hendrik, that sounds fun!”

“Will I be on your side, Princess?”

“We’ll have to talk that one over once Eleven gets Erik..”

“Very well.” Hendrik conceded before getting out of the beach chair that had been sitting in and went to follow Jade who caught up Eleven just as he was bringing along Erik. 

"So a game of volleyball?" Erik chimed in.

"Are you up for it?"

"Of course. It sounds fun."

_A Few Minutes Later_

Goddess, Erik felt like an ant next to Hendrik. He at least understood that in order for the game to be fair, there was one power player and one fast player on either side. At least he was on the side as Hendrik as he feared that Jade drilling holes in the back of his head as they played would throw him off of his rhythm.

Right in front of his boyfriend nonetheless, whose game face almost looked adorable.

The game begins and Jade has the ball.

There was that look in her eyes again, the look to murder. 

She did a sprinting jump and utterly smashed the volleyball like she was trying to destroy a monster. Both Hendrik and Erik exhibited the same amount of fear in that given minute called “ _we’re about to die._ ” The ball crash-landed like a meteor landing on the planet right in the middle of the court. There was even a small crater in the sand and the only thing missing was the burned ring around the ball.

“Looks like we scored a point.” Jade casually commented, flipping her high ponytail back, with Eleven looking on in admiration like only a younger sibling would have for their older sibling.

Erik wasn’t sure if the thing beating hard in his chest was his heart or an impending bomb, but he didn’t have to relax another minute. Although terrified, he wasn’t going to give up that easily, especially not when Hendrik got back on his feet.

“So this is how you wish to play Princess? Very well, **be prepared.** ”

It was their turn with the ball and Hendrik chose to serve. Hendrik did a nice hit over the net and Eleven responded faster by running to the net and hitting back. Erik took a stab and bounced it back. 

Jade was heading toward the ball, with hasty ferocity. Hendrik braced himself and went in just as Jade slapped the ball at an angle, “cutting” it down sharply. Erik was just fast enough to slide and bounce it back up for Hendrik to ace the ball to the ground for a point. 

“Erik, you alright? That was an awesome save!”

“Yeah. I’m good.” Erik confirmed, trying to ignore the stinging pain on his stomach from the hot sand. 

The game ended up in Jade and Eleven’s favor by two points. 

“That was a wonderful game! It was fun to watch.” Serena said sweetly. She had been watching the game from the sidelines nearby and thought Jade did really well.

“H-Heh, I hope it was.” Jade stuttered a little. Serena went to join her at her side and proceeded to talk about the match. Eleven hoped that Jade could convince Serena on a date, it would be nice for the two of them. He was sure Veronica wouldn't mind.

“Well, that was a good game. Why don’t we grab some ice cream since we’re over here?” Eleven beamed.

Ice cream didn’t sound like a bad idea, even though he lost, plus it was hard saying no to that sweet face of his anyhow. So feeling Eleven’s hand sneaking into his, they walked up to the ice cream counter and saw that all popsicles were on sale.

“These are the cream-filled ones, too! I heard these are really good!” Eleven exclaimed, excitedly. Erik remembered he had a massive sweet-tooth and Eleven eating any treats was always a delight to see. 

“So what flavor are you picking?

“I think I’ll go for the strawberry one. How about you?”

“I think I’ll go for the orange one.”

“Oh, that does look good.”

They were greeted by the gentlewoman working at the counter and so they ordered what they wanted. Eleven almost fought over Erik paying for it, “that you didn’t have to!” and such, but Erik always liked treating Eleven to small things like this. So they got their popsicles and Eleven gave Erik his, both of them trying to get ahold of it before it started melting. 

Erik took a bite into his and was pleasantly surprised by the flavor. Erik turned to Eleven to ask him how his tasted, just to catch Eleven with his eyes lit up after biting off the top of his. 

_He's so cute._

“How is it?”

“It’s really good! Wanna bite?”

His popsicle did look good and so Erik was willing to give it a shot, biting off a small chunk with the cream. After a minute of tasting it, he found that the strawberry flavor was just as sweet. He offered his to Eleven, who graciously took the offer and absolutely enjoyed Eleven’s happy expression at the joy of another flavor.

“Let’s go sit and relax for a while before the sun beats us to death.”

“Yeah, I’m already feeling burnt.”

They ended up in each other’s company under Eleven’s umbrella, eating their popsicles and holding hands. 

**The Next Day**

“Oh gosh, Erik! You really got the brunt of yesterday’s sun, didn’t you?”

His skin being so warm that it was almost bright red, poor Erik really was burnt to a crisp. He went from super pale to almost a lobster.

“Come on sweet, let’s get you some aloe and a cold bath.”

As miserable as he was, Erik could always count on Eleven to help him out.


End file.
